RIGHT International, 12 May 1966 799
Letters
Train v. Air from Manchester
SIR,—Ringway's proximity to the residential areas
whence so many business journeys to London originate
means less than your article ["The Big Switch," page
579, April 14] suggests, and BEA has its head in the
sand if it believes otherwise. Cunning old British Rail
has thought of it too, and the crack trains stop twice
while passing through the same residential zone. I live
practically on the edge of the airport, but Wilmslow
Station is handy too, and I don't have to check-in twenty
minutes before departure there.
For me, the only reasons for flying to London now
would be either business at Heathrow itself or an
appointment too early to be kept by arrival at Euston
at 1025. Even then, the advantage in flying (arrive Heath-
row 0820 or 0900, into London when traffic permits)
is marginal and disappears with only a tiny flight delay.
The "Executive Express" service—coach direct from
aircraft to Cromwell Road—has done a little to speed
and ease the journey by avoiding the bottleneck of No 2
Passenger Building: but it only works in one direction,
it only works for the first three flights of the day, the
coach is far from luxurious, and the extra 5s charge
is incomprehensible.
No, Sir, the trains now match the planes for con-
venience—and they win hands down on comfort and
cost.
Cost first, assuming you want to get from the north-
Cheshire residential belt to a central-London terminal
and back:—
Air (Economy Class)
£ s d
Return air fare* 10 8 0
Coach to Cromwell Road (Executive Express) 10 0
Coach back to Heathrow 5 0
•From June 1 this will be increased by £2.
Train (First-Class Pullman)
Return fare (Wilmslow)
Pullman surcharge
The margin will pay for your British Rail breakfast,
which is excellent, and your British Rail dinner, which
is adequate. And if you do not need to be in London
until lunch-time, you qualify for a day-return, a bargain
at £5 6s first class on the non-Pullman train.
Now comfort. If you prefer not to join the unseemly
scramble, in which women and children are thrust aside,
to see if there are any 20in seats at the back of your
Vanguard, you will end up almost in the plane of the
propellers, in six-abreast seats at 35in pitch, sandwiched
between two broad men of whom at least one is trying
to use your lap-strap, with room on the floor for your
feet or your briefcase, but not both.
When you are let out on to the windy tarmac you
fight for standing room on a jerky trailer for a tour
of Heathrow before walking up a lot of ramps or steps,
through corridors and down some more ramps and steps
to board another crowded coach. The Executive Express
saves you the trailer, the ramps and the corridors, but
little else. Finally, at Cromwell Road there is another
maze to negotiate before you find a taxi or brave the
quarter-mile walk to the tube. If you want to prepare
for work ahead, there are only brief periods of the
journey in which you can read the contents of your
11
£
7
2
9
3
s
3
10
13
0
d
0
0
0
briefcase, and then not in the easiest of conditions.
In British Rail's Midland Pullman you have a reserved
seat, adjustable and more comfortable than most first-
class air seats, with adequate room for your elbows,
your feet, your briefcase, your overcoat and your out-
spread newspaper or scattered documents. The air-
conditioning works, the double windows cut out a lot
of noise and the welded rails do not tickety-tick at you.
The train sways surprisingly little (writing would be
difficult, but that is true of most of your air journey,
too). You have the option of a reasonable meal. You
do not need to stir from your seat until you arrive
at Euston.
I am no railway crank. I love aeroplanes, which is
why I work in the aircraft industry. I have been flying
for years, pilot and passenger. But British Rail will get
my custom on this route until something turns up to
make the air journey more attractive. Such as an hourly
shuttle, less herding around at Heathrow and better
transport into London.
Wilmslow, Cheshire J. E. FARRAND
Sm,—Three cheers for British Rail! It is high time
that there was some real competition for BEA on the
London - Manchester route as an incentive to improve
its service. It has always seemed grossly unfair that
two air carriers should be licensed on the London-
Liverpool route and yet that BEA should retain a virtual
monopoly on the more lucrative London - Manchester
route. The occasional BOAC flight can hardly be called
competition.
At the same time, having three carriers on the
London - Glasgow route is farcical. How about letting
British United take over British Eagle's flights from
London - Glasgow, albeit from different airports, and
giving British Eagle a slice of the London - Manchester
traffic in return? BEA's inevitable objections would have
to be overruled in the public interest. A monopoly is
indefensible. If the independents can provide good ser-
vice and make a profit on the rind of the air routes,
surely they should be entitled to some of the cheese?
Further, any routes (e.g., Highlands and islands) where
BEA cannot operate except at a loss should be put out
to tender and the lowest bid compatible with good ser-
vice accepted. The money saved could be well spent
making it easier for passengers to reach the airports.
Northwich, Cheshire s. M. HARDING
Let-down Accidents
SIR,—May I, once again, take a little of your space to
clear up a few points which have arisen as a result of
my last letter on let-down accidents?
Mr Bonner (April 21) assumes that I am unaware
of the facilities which Decca provides. I realise that it
is excellent equipment, but I do not think that it covers
worldwide international air routes; perhaps I am wrong.
I strongly recommend DME as a short-range naviga-
tional aid because, in my opinion, it gives the pilot the
most important information of all, namely, the distance-
to-go to the airfield. This information is displayed on
the dashboard right in front of him, and it is up to the
second and very accurate. Thus DME gives the captain
the ability to check information given to him by his
navigator. At present I can only believe that no such
checks are made. What other explanation can there be
for these let-down accidents? DME is not unduly
expensive, it is reliable, and it is easily installed both
on the ground and in the aircraft. The DME beacon
is on the airfield and not on top of a mountain as
Mr Bonner seems to suggest.
The astonishing feature about let-down accidents is
that they happen to pilots with thousands of hours of
flying and very many years of experience—pilots, in
fact, who will be flying the jumbo jets and the Concorde
when they enter service. Are these, too, going to be
flown into mountains on the Way down? If nothing is
done in the meantime to improve navigational facilities
and air traffic control throughout the world then it is